By NED X. GRIFFEN

Kyle Wilson ain't exactly tiny. The Ledyard High School senior is 6-foot-3, 245 pounds and is one of the anchors of his team's offensive and defensive lines.

Wilson would be considered small by Montville's standards as it has one of the Eastern Connecticut Conference's more mega-sized offensive lines.

Ledyard's lack of bulk didn't keep it from controlling the line of scrimmage during Friday's 26-21 win. The Colonels defense allowed Montville's power-running game 170 yards on 28 carries, which qualified as a strong effort given how the Indians have trampled other teams.

"Our game plan was to come in and use our speed to get around their size," Wilson said. "I think we did a pretty good job with that. We had some little breakdowns, but we battled the lows and we rode the highs."

Ledyard coach Jim Buonocore said, "They've been the backbone of our football team the last two years. I think they've finally realized that our expectations going into the season, quite frankly, rested on their shoulders. And they felt that they haven't lived up to their end of the bargain. And I think tonight was a good test for them. They took a lot of the (game) lead-up personally as we prepared. We heard about Montville's size and their ability to run the football, and I think these guys were ready to take the opportunity that they shouldn't be forgotten."

Ledyard's front four were Kyle Perry, Robert Bozym, Colin Grim and Wilson.

Grim, a defensive tackle, is 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds.

"Grim is just a tough, hard-nosed football player," Buonocore said. "He's quick off the ball and has tremendous lateral movement. He's a tough, tough kid to block. He's kind of that football player that we've always tried to get on the field, and there was really just no place for him. He's not athletic enough for the secondary. A little bit too slow to play linebacker.

"In our defense, to have that quick middle guard that we can do a lot of run stunts with and put pressure on the quarterback in passing situations, he hits the role perfectly."

DeAngelo Berry ran 17 times for 90 yards and three touchdowns as No. 6 Xavier of Middletown stunned Hillhouse of New Haven Friday, 50-49. Hillhouse took a 49-21 lead seconds into the fourth quarter before the Falcons tied the state-record for the biggest comeback. They share it with both Bacon Academy and St. Joseph of Trumbull. Berry ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 51 seconds left, followed by a game-winning two-point run.

Torrington led Derby by as much as 39 points in the second quarter of its game Friday, and then withstood a furious Derby rally to win, 52-44. Devone Thomas ran for four touchdowns and Phil Bresson threw for three scores for Torrington (4-3). Mike Kreiger completed 17 of 28 passes for 328 yards and six touchdowns for Derby (4-3) while Dillon McMahon had 10 catches for 238 yards and four touchdowns. The two teams combined for 14 touchdowns.

Word finally got out Friday that Fairfield Ludlowe coach Matt McCloskey would retire at the end of the season. That night, his team beat Stamford, 7-6. Matt White's 1-yard touchdown run and Victor D'Ascenzo extra point in the fourth quarter led to the win. McCloskey also had his team go for it on fourth-and-2 from their own 45-yard line with one minute, 6 seconds left in the game. White ran for the first down and Ludlowe (2-5) ran out the clock.

Divante White completed 12 of 19 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns as Stonington beat Griswold Friday, 28-7, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Wolverines. We're not comfortable with the Bears throwing that much instead of adhering to the principles of GOD'S OFFENSE.

Brennan Diaz threw a game-winning 2-point conversion to Jeff Haney with 1:28 left in the game as Oxford rallied to beat New Fairfield Saturday, 22-21. Diaz completed 16 of 26 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns for Oxford. Teammate Chris VanKamerik caught all those touchdowns on an eye-popping 265 yards on just nine catches. … Weston's Tyler Hassett manned-up Saturday in a 20-15 win over Stratford. After missing the first half due to injuries, he came off the bench to throw three second-half touchdowns, including a 46-yard game-winning touchdown to Justin Schaffer with 29 seconds left.

St. Paul of Bristol held Kennedy of Waterbury to 97 yards Saturday and won its first game of the season, 41-0. … Jordan Vazzano threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as St. Joseph of Trumbull routed Fairfield Warde, 49-6. Jake Pelletier added seven catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns. … Jack Shaban had 18 carries for 186 yards and a touchdown and was an economical 4 of 6 passing for 42 yards and two touchdowns as unbeaten Barlow of Redding beat New Milford Saturday, 48-21. It's the first time in Rob Tynan's 21 years as Barlow's head coach that the team has started 7-0.